Help

For successful cessation, it is crucial that the child cannot pull the thumb out themselves. If your child can still pull out their thumb, we recommend the following procedure:

• Check whether the size fits. You can find the size information here.
• Check that the straps are adjusted correctly. The initial setting in particular can take some time to ensure that everything is optimally adjusted.

Important: The child should never be asked to try to pull the thumb out themselves.

If, despite all adjustment attempts, the child still manages to pull out the thumb, a simple trick will help. It is usually sufficient to apply this for the first 2-3 days of weaning.

Wrap a medical tape * around the thumb joint. This makes it difficult to bend the thumb and it can therefore no longer be twisted out from under the product.

Most of the time it is only necessary for the first few days of weaning and the remaining duration of weaning can take place without it.

If nothing helps. Send a photo to our support team so that we can help you individually.

* We recommend using a non-stretch medical tape, e.g. Durapore from 3m. You can get this in any pharmacy or online.

Typically, children have a preferred thumb that they suck. However, it can happen that a child switches to the other thumb. Should this be the case, we recommend weaning with two DAUMENHELDEN.

Typically, children have a preferred thumb that they suck. A finger in the mouth feels completely different and is therefore only chosen by a few children as a substitute for the thumb. This usually only occurs in small children (under 2 years) in whom the habit for a thumb has not yet become strongly automated. In this case, we recommend postponing the therapy for 6 months.

This happens very often. An estimated 80% of all children who suck their thumbs also have an «oral fixation». However, this usually only becomes noticeable during thumb-sucking cessation. With an «oral fixation», the child associates objects on or in the mouth with pleasant feelings.

What should be considered:

• The material of DAUMENHELD is made of harmless material and is absolutely safe. Care should only be taken to ensure that the child does not bite out large pieces and thus free the thumb.
• The «oral fixation» is typically not as strongly anchored in the brain as thumb-sucking and is easier to overcome. Talk to your child about the fact that only food belongs in the mouth and accompany them on the way.
• The «oral fixation» should also be treated whenever possible. However, this should be done more towards the end of weaning, as the first 1-2 weeks are already a major challenge for the child with the thumb. After that, the child should only put food in their mouth. Basically, it is not bad if the child still puts objects and fingers in their mouth after weaning, but there is a risk that the thumb will (accidentally) end up in the mouth again.

If your child starts thumb-sucking again immediately after weaning, this means that the habit has not been overcome.

For weaning to be successful, thumb-sucking must be prevented 100%. Therefore, the DAUMENHELD should also be worn day and night (without interruption) during weaning. Even if there is only occasional and brief thumb-sucking, the whole weaning process is ineffective.

We recommend continuing weaning until the habit is overcome.

If the child has already managed for some time after weaning without thumb-sucking, this means that the weaning was successful, but unfortunately there has been a relapse.

Relapses are rare, but they can happen. The longer a child goes without thumb-sucking, the less likely a relapse becomes.

We have identified two main reasons for relapses: stress and imitation

Stress (physical)

If the child is physically stressed (illness, cold, fall, …), they will look for ways to calm down. Sometimes the thumb ends up in the mouth again in such a case

Stress (emotional)

In the same way, major changes or uncertainties in the child’s life (e.g. the birth of a sibling or a divorce) can lead to the child looking for ways to calm down.

Imitation

Children want to belong and therefore copy each other very often. If another child (sibling or friend) sucks their thumb, it can lead to the child copying this.

It is important to understand the cause in order to prevent another relapse. We recommend starting weaning again as soon as the cause has been resolved.

The Daumenheld was specially developed for children to be as comfortable as possible. The occurrence of a rash is very rare.

Rash
The occurrence of a rash is very rare, but can occur in small children with very sensitive skin. The cause is the moisture that forms around the thumb. It usually has nothing to do with the material of the Daumenheld.

If you discover a rash on your finger that does not disappear within a few hours after removing the product, we recommend pausing weaning so that the skin can recover.

• As soon as the skin has completely healed, weaning can be continued with the following precautions.
• Make sure that the skin under the Daumenheld is always dry and clean. If the skin gets wet, remove the Daumenheld so that it and the thumb can be completely dried.
• To prevent irritation from moisture, we recommend using a hydrophobic cream (e.g. Vaseline or Desitin). Apply a very thin layer to the skin before putting on the Daumenheld.

Pressure marks
If the Daumenheld is worn very tightly, slight pressure marks may occur. This is usually not a cause for concern. But make sure that the Daumenheld is not set too tight. Under no circumstances should the hand or finger be constricted.

Our mission is to support you and your child in stopping thumb-sucking. If you can’t find the right answer, send us a message. We’re happy to help.